


If he were a lesser Man

by xCinis



Series: If he were a lesser Man [1]
Category: DCU, Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Blindfolds, Bondage, Chastity Device, Gags, Good Slade Wilson, Human Trafficking, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nipple Clamps, No Sex, POV Slade Wilson, Protective Slade Wilson, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:41:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21526162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCinis/pseuds/xCinis
Summary: It would be a lie to say that Slade didn’t enjoy the sight of Grayson right now. Kneeling. Bound. At his mercy. He really was into this shit. He could do anything he wanted to the kid. And if he were a lesser man, he would. But he wasn’t.Slade just finished a contract when he finds Dick Grayson there, being kept captive by human traffickers. He knows what they are going to do to him. Break him. Torture him. Turn him into a sex slave like the other victims. Slade can't just leave him there. He has to save him.He isn't a monster. And also, Grayson is the person he has feelings for, after all.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson
Series: If he were a lesser Man [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551484
Comments: 29
Kudos: 281





	1. Chapter 1

A happy customer should make Slade happy too. A happy customer meant that his job was done and that he was about to get paid. A customer as happy and rich as Antonio Adonis was right now meant that there might even be some extra payment. 

But Slade was not at all happy. He was angry. At himself for being too sloppy to double check the contract. At Adonis for being scum. At himself again for being a fucking hypocrite who killed people for a living but had a problem with his current employer being the head of a human trafficking organization. 

He knew exactly why he was feeling this way. Why he suddenly had a problem with stuff like that. Why his morals had changed. 

But damn him if he was going to admit that his change of mind was just because of one specific young man. 

A man he had missed tonight. This was Blüdhaven. Nightwing was always there to mess with his contracts whenever they took place in Blüdhaven. He somehow always knew that Deathstroke was involved and showed up. Always. Every single fucking time. It was hard to imagine that Grayson didn’t know about this human trafficking ring. And the kid definitely knew that he was in his city. They’d fought a bit over a week ago. 

Slade pushed the thought away, concentrating on Adonis again. The man was still talking about how pleased he was, waving a thick envelope in his hand. 

He just wanted his money and leave. He really desperately wanted to leave. They were in Adonis’s office which was located in his _brothel_. A brothel in which he trained victims of human trafficking to be obedient sex slaves. 

Slade was so disgusted and _he wanted to leave_. 

Finally, Adonis handed him the envelope and Slade took it, put it into one of his pouches, not bothering to count it. 

But of course, Adonis still wasn’t finished talking. 

Slade had to suppress a growl when Adonis’s hand touched his lower back to guide him out of the office. 

“I’m pleased with your accomplishment of the given task,” Adonis said again and Slade wanted to punch him in the face. Sometimes, actually never, but definitely right now, he regretted being the professional he was. He had a reputation. A flawless one and he had worked to achieve this, but right now he was tempered to risk it just to _punch Adonis in the face_. 

He thought again about feeling like a hypocrite. No, he didn’t just feel like one, he was a fucking hypocrite. He did have a moral code, yes, has always had one, but until now, until this very job, it hadn’t been... like this. Whatever _this_ was supposed to be. 

He has done awful things before. He has killed innocents. Children. Had been hired for human trafficking before. That was the kind of stuff that you made good money with. 

This had to stop. He knew, he knew this was all Grayson's fault. He also knew that it wasn’t _actually_ his fault, because the kid hadn’t done _anything_ , but it _was his fault entirely_. The kid was fucking with his head and he didn’t even know it. Fought against him on their usual regular basis and didn’t even suspect that he had Slade twisted around his little finger. 

Fuck, caring about people was exhausting and Slade was so ready for this bullshit to stop. 

But no, _no_ , here he was, riled at Adonis, at _himself_ , that he had just finished a job for a human trafficker and was now being led from his office into the open of a big room, in which there was everything that disgusted him about this in one place. Some of the guards from today’s job, all the perverted costumers and the girls and boys that had been abducted and were now forced to... 

“Very, very pleased,” Adonis said and Slade had to clench his fists. If Adonis said the word _pleased_ one more time, he was going to snap. “In fact, I’d like to add a little bonus to your payment. A reward.” 

Ah, there it was. 

Slade wasn’t looking at him, but he could hear that Adonis was grinning and Slade instantly knew what that reward was about. 

No. No! He wasn’t interested in _raping a slave_. 

Slade was glad that his face was covered. “That’s hardly necessary. I’m satisfied with my payment. It’s what we agreed on.” 

The hand on his back moved to pat his shoulder. 

“I insist, please. I assure you, no one can offer you finer girls. Or boys, if that’s what you’re interested in.” Adonis’s laugh made clear that he didn’t think this was the case. Deathstroke the Terminator being interested in the same gender? Unimaginable. 

Slade crossed his arms over his chest. “If I want a fuck, I’ll look for a normal brothel. Got a paycheck very recently, you know?” 

Adonis laughed, clearly thinking that he was joking. “Ah, I see. How can I convince you to take my offer? What does a man like you desire?” he asked, leading him further into the room. 

No, not joking, Slade realised. Wanting more than what was offered. Wanting something better than... this. 

He looked at one of the girls, kneeling where the men, the customers, could inspect her, choose her of they wanted her, and he felt sick. 

“Let’s see... Oh! What about a girl that hasn’t been deflowered yet? How old do you like them?” 

Slade stood still abruptly. “Excuse me?” 

The grin on Adonis's face widened. “You don’t understand how happy I am with your job, do you? If this had gone wrong, I would be ruined. My reputation wouldn’t have survived this. There was this little incident, just last week. A cop found some things we really didn’t like him to find. Was about to make a disastrous phone call. That was already too close for my opinion. And my dearest costumers, of course, somehow found out about this. Doesn’t make them feel safe. We handled the situation, of course. But today? Today would have been the end of all this if not for you!” 

Great. This made Slade feel even worse. 

“A cop?” he asked, just to make Adonis talk about something else than offering Slade one of his slaves. 

“Oh, yes. A little pain in the ass, the kid. But a pretty one, luckily.” The grin on his face widened even more. “So we kept him. He will be trained. Some of our customers would love to fuck a pretty little cop like him. Just imagine, how much money his tight little virgin hole will make me, hmmm...” Adonis closed his eyes and took a deep breath, already counting the bills in is head. 

Slade felt like vomiting. This was even worse than him trying to offer him one of the girls. 

“But first, he needs to be broken. Little brat, the kid.” 

Adonis opened his eyes again and looked in a certain direction, right past Slade. He turned and tried to find whatever Adonis was looking at. 

“Keeping him on display, for now. Showing my customers that we keep this establishment safe.” 

“Of course,” Slade said. 

There was a young man kneeling on a small, round platform. He was somewhat in the middle of the room and too far away to see any details in the dim room, but Slade saw that he was tied down, blindfolded, gagged and naked. 

Adonis's hand touched his back again to lead him in the direction if the bound man. 

Even though Slade was wearing his full armour, mask and weapons included, no one really bat him an eye. Giving the customers quick glances, he decided that the mask was the least off thing about him. A lot of guys were wearing masks. Discretion, he guessed. 

Before he could give this any further thought, they came to a halt in front of the man... or boy, Slade decided. He couldn’t really see his face, but what he saw looked young. Mid-twenties, he guessed. 

“Been sitting here every day for almost a week now. I want him to know his place,” Adonis said. 

Slade was about to turn around and explain to Adonis that he just wanted to leave and really had no interest in his slaves when something caught his eye. Something about the boy. Something... 

His breath got caught in his throat. For a second, he couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. That chin. The nose. The hair. It was... 

“Him,” someone said and it took him a moment to realise it was him. Shit. 

“What?” Adonis gave him a confused look. 

“Him,” Slade said again after clearing his throat. “I want him.” 

Adonis’s eyes widened and he looked between Slade and... the boy. 

It was him. Slade couldn’t be more certain. He was used to seeing him with his eyes covered by a mask, so the blindfold actually made it even easier to recognise him. And of course, it made sense. A police officer dumb, or courageous, enough, to investigate against someone as dangerous as Adonis. Nightwing not showing up for about the whole past week. It was him. It was Grayson. 

“Him?” Adonis asked. “Him! But he is... I wanted to...” 

“It’s him or I’ll go,” Slade interrupted him. He couldn’t leave him like that. He had to... he had to help him. Had to get him out of this place where they would turn him into a slave and... His stomach turned and he hated himself for caring so much. For falling for a boy who hated him. 

Maybe Adonis would say no. That didn’t matter. He could get Grayson out of here anyways. But like that, it would be easier. Make Adonis take him to a room, into privacy. Pretending he would... rape the kid, but getting him free instead. 

Adonis looked at Grayson again, considering. Then, he gave a short nod. He didn’t look happy, even though he was smiling again. “Of course. Only the best for Deathstroke, I suppose?” 

Slade wondered whether the fact that he would lose a, like he claimed, virgin or that Deathstroke of all people had an interest in men bothered him more. Of course, Slade knew that for a matter of fact, Grayson wasn’t a virgin. But that didn’t really matter. Not to Adonis and not to him right now. 

Slade wondered why Grayson wasn’t reacting to anything they said. Maybe he didn’t realise they were talking about him. Maybe he was wearing earplugs to add to his helplessness. 

While Adonis gestured for two of his men to come over and told them to take “the cop cunt" to a room, Slade took a closer look. 

He was stark naked indeed. Not a single piece if skin was covered, except for the restraints around his wrists and ankles. They looked heavy. Leather, but thick, secure. Slade was sure that those weren’t the first restraints he's been put in since he’d gotten captured. Had broken out of simpler ones, for sure. His cock was neatly locked up in a cock cage. No one actually expected him to get hard, for sure. It was there just to add to his humiliation, Slade was sure. There were clamps on his nipples that looked painfully tight, a thin chain connecting them. A black piece of cloth was tied around his eyes and a black ball gag kept him silent. Slade was actually surprised that there was no collar around his throat. That would complete the picture. 

And to his shame he had to admit that Grayson’s look... turned him on. He quickly tried to think of a plan to get the kid out of this building without too much trouble instead of just bending him over and... 

“I need to warn you, Deathstroke. He hasn’t been trained yet. He might try to attack you and he will resist,” Adonis said. 

“Oh, I’m actually hoping for him to. Don’t worry. I will make him behave.” 

At this, Adonis looked happy again. “Of course, you will.” 

One of the men stepped on the platform now and grabbed Grayson. The boy jerked violently and started to struggle. He couldn’t do anything except for giving a muffled protest and flexing his wrists in their restraints. 

The man reached for the chain connecting the cuffs around Grayson's wrist to the ones on his ankles. The chain was bolted to the floor, to make sure that the kid had no way of getting up and off the platform. The second the chain was off Grayson struggled even more, but having his hands tied behind his back and his feet still chained together, he couldn’t do anything against both of them grabbing him now. 

Slade realised that some of the guest were staring in their direction now. He made a point of ignoring their looks. He didn’t want to look into the faces of the people who were clearly enjoying the kid’s attempts to struggle. Instead, his eyes followed the men who carried the struggling boy between them towards a big staircase. 

Adonis slowly led him towards the stairs too. “They will take him into one of our best rooms. You will have everything your heart desires. Various tools to test on the boy.” 

“Very generous.” Slade was again glad that he was wearing his mask. He was sure his hatred was more than visible on his face. 

He let Adonis lead him to a room. When he opened the door, Grayson was already alone, kneeling on the floor, still struggling. He was tied to a ring in the floor again, so it wasn’t of much use. 

The room was indeed well-equipped. Whips, restraints, dildos and various more toys. Slade would love this room if he was with a willing partner. But Grayson was neither willing, nor his partner in any possible definition of this word. 

A closer look confirmed that there weren’t any cameras in the room. He didn’t expect them to be, but he preferred to rather be safe than sorry. 

Adonis let go of him in order to crouch down next to Grayson. He raised his hands towards his ears and when the hand brushed his cheek, the kid flinched back. Slade wasn’t surprised when Adonis took out two earplugs. He grabbed Grayson’s hair and jerked his head backwards, leaning closer to his ear. 

“New plans for you, _Officer_ , I’m afraid. There is a nice gentleman who wants to claim you. And who am I to deny him?” he growled into his ear. 

Grayson went stiff for a moment before he renewed his struggles, more violently than before, his protests muffled by the ball gag in his mouth. 

Adonis laughed, got up and patted Grayson’s head, the kid not having enough room to get away from his touch. 

Slade crossed his arms, tried to look impatient. Well, he was, actually. Grayson looked so nervous, maybe even scared. It was killing him and he cursed himself _again_ for falling for the boy. It was so wrong, entirely inappropriate and absolutely not justified. 

Adonis let go of Grayson to give Slade a mocking bow. “Enjoy your reward. Take your time. Stay as long as you want,” he offered and gave him a key. The key to the restraints, Slade guessed and put it in a pouch for now. 

Slade just gave him a short nod and finally, _finally_ , Adonis left. 

His eyes fell on Grayson. The kid had stopped struggling for now, accepting that it was pointless, and he obviously tried to listen to anything that could give the identity of the mysterious man in the room away. 

It would be a lie to say that Slade didn’t enjoy the sight of Grayson right now. Kneeling. Bound. At his _mercy_. He really was into this shit. He could do anything he wanted to the kid. And if he were a lesser man, he would. But he wasn’t. Non-consensual sex really didn’t do it for him and even touching the boy without his permission would... Slade didn’t even want to finish the thought. 

After short consideration, he took his mask off and put it on a cabinet. Then, he took a deep breath and got down to one knee in front of Grayson. 

The boy tilted his head slightly, trying to follow the sounds he made. If he wanted to, Slade could move without making any sound at all. He didn't do that now, hoping that hearing him would help the boy to calm down. 

Slade took another breath and reached out to grab the blindfold. Grayson went stiff. When Slade pulled the cloth off, the first thing he saw in Grayson’s eyes was defiance. It took but a second for the expression to change from defiant to recognition, then confusion and finally, panic. Nothing but pure panic. 

Grayson renewed his struggles. His eyes widened so much they watered. He desperately tried to move away from him, but the chains kept him in place. He shook his head, tried to say something, was breathing heavily. 

Slade considered taking the gag off next, but decided against it. He wanted to say his piece without having Grayson try to beg him not to do any of the things he wouldn’t do anyways. Instead, he raised his hands, palms up, tried not to look like a threat. 

A pretty difficult task, given that he was Deathstroke the Terminator and in full armour. While Grayson himself was naked and helpless... 

“Grayson,” he said, trying to sound calm and soothing. 

The boy tensed up and stopped struggling. There was a single tear on his cheek. Slade had never seen him so terrified before. 

Being held captive and going to be raped was one thing. Being at the mercy of someone you consider your enemy and going to be raped by them was a completely other thing, Slade supposed. 

He got down to the other knee, hands still up. “Listen, kid. I will _not_ rape you. I’m not here to hurt you. I want to help you.” 

Grayson's eyes got even bigger. There was the confusion again, next to the panic. 

“You have my word as a mercenary that I am not going to hurt you, alright?” he promised. His word meant a lot to him and Grayson knew that. But the kid was still scared and Slade couldn’t hold that against him. 

When he reached out to take the gag off, Grayson flinched back and Slade stopped the movement. 

“I just want to take the gag off, alright? You’ll let me?” he said and waited for Grayson to give a small, hesitant nod. He reached for the back of Grayson's neck, well aware of how stiff the boy was, scared of his touch, and unbuckled the straps of the gag. Grayson opened his mouth a bit wider to let Slade take the gag off. 

A whimper escaped Grayson’s lips the second the gag came off and looked relieved to be able to move his jaw. The corners of his mouth looked raw. He probably had been wearing the gag for the better part of almost a week. He closed his moth to swallow but opened it again afterwards and breathed through his mouth, closing his eyes instead for a moment. 

When he opened them again after a minute and looked at Slade, the fear still wasn’t gone. 

“Slade-” Grayson started, his voice raw, but he stopped talking and coughed. After clearing his throat several times, he tried it again. “What are you going to do to me?” he asked quietly. 

Slade noticed that the kid pressed his thighs together. Trying to cover his nudity. It didn’t work at all, but Slade made a point of not looking at the parts he was trying to cover. The situation already was humiliating enough for Grayson. He didn’t want to make that worse. 

“I will get you out of here,” Slade said simply. 

The look Grayson gave him made it clear that he didn’t believe that. 

“Why should you do that?” Grayson wet his lips. 

_Because I’m an idiot who has fallen for the wrong person and cares about them_ , Slade thought. 

“Because contrary to popular belief I’m not a heartless monster who’d let Nightwing become a sex slave,” he said. 

Grayson tensed up and looked around the room. 

“There are no cameras,” Slade assured him. “No one wants there to be proof of the things that happen in these rooms.” 

The scowl Grayson gave him surprised Slade. 

“Sounds like you know this place,” the kid growled, his voice getting a bit louder. The fear was gone, suddenly replaced with anger. He tugged at his restraints and leaned forwards, closer to Slade. 

Ah, he believed that Slade was here as a customer. 

“No. But I’ve been in my business long enough to understand the importance of privacy and discretion. I’m not here as a customer. I have no interest in raping a slave. I’m here because Adonis hired me.” 

“So, you’re working for that scum of a human trafficker who runs a-” 

Slade growled and when Grayson jerked back, his eyes widening a bit, he regretted it. He should be careful not to scare him even more. Even though Slade did give him his word not to hurt him, he was still bound and at the mercy of Deathstroke. As far as Slade could tell, Grayson hasn’t been afraid of him at least since he became Nightwing. Being held captive by someone who captured people to turn them into sex slaves and being handed over to him of all people apparently did have an effect on that. 

He sighted. 

“Look, I didn’t know this was about human trafficking. My job was to make sure that a truck made it unnoticed from A to B. I didn’t know there were people in it. I found out when the job was already done. Adonis insisted on offering one of his slaves to me, for a job well done. I declined. Because I’m not a damn rapist. Then I saw you and I recognised you. I told him that I wanted you and no one else. I wanted to get you into the privacy of a closed room and then figure out how to get you out of here. Because I ca-” Slade cleared his throat. What he said instead of _because I care_ wasn’t any better. “Because I do like you kid, and I’m not going to let this,” he gestured at the toys in the room, “happen to you.” 

Grayson just stared at him with wide eyes, probably not quite believing what he just heard. 

Then, much to Slade’s surprise, he started to cry. 

Slade went stiff, not really knowing what he should do. He reached out to touch Grayson, but decided against it. Instead, he got up and went over to the bed that was in the room. He grabbed a blanket and threw it over his arm. When he crouched down behind Grayson, he wasn’t crying anymore, just quietly sobbing. 

“I will uncuff you now,” Slade said, now wanting the kid to startle when he grabbed his wrists. Grayson didn’t move when Slade took the small key from his pouch and unlocked the restraints around his wrists and ankles. His arms just fell to his sides and he didn’t try to move them. They were probably numb after being tied for days, Slade supposed. 

When he took the blanket and threw it over Grayson’s shoulders, the kid made an almost pleased noise. 

Slade got up, moved around Grayson and went down on his knees again in front of him. 

Grayson looked him in the eye. His own eyes were still a bit watery. But now, there was hope in them. 

“Please,” Grayson said. “Please don’t break your word. Please don’t give me hope and...” A sob shook his body and he lowered his gaze. 

“I won’t. I swear. My only intention is to get you to safety. If I wanted to hurt you, I’d just do it. There is no need for me to give you false hope.” Maybe not the best thing he could have said, but Grayson nodded, still not looking at him. 

“Can you move your arms?” Slade asked and at that Grayson shook his head. 

“Numb,” he said quietly. 

Just what Slade thought. His gaze fell on the clamps that were still tight on his nipples. They had to hurt. Taking them off would hurt even more, but they had to be removed. And the cock cage... Slade really didn’t want to humiliate the kid even more by removing it for him, but he couldn’t do it on his own now and it had to go as well. He should probably ask Grayson whether he wanted him to, so that’s what he did next. 

“Do you want me to remove the rest of... the stuff for you?” 

Grayson looked at him, down at himself, and back at Slade. 

“I... yes,” he finally said, blushing a bit. 

“Alright,” Slade said. “This will hurt,” he added as he reached for the clamps. 

Grayson bit his lips and barely managed to suppress a pained noise when he took the first one off. A small sound escaped him at the second one. 

Slade saw that he tried to raise his hands, probably to rub at his sore and hurting nipples, but his arms were still too numb to move them, so he gave up on that. Instead, he moved his thighs, spread them just a bit to allow him to reach the cock cage. 

Slade made sure not to look into Grayson’s face when he unlocked it and dropped it to the floor next to the clamps, glad that the key fit the cage as well. 

Grayson closed his legs again and Slade grabbed the edge of the blanket to wrap it around the kid. With his nudity covered, he visibly relaxed. 

“Thank you,” Grayson muttered, not looking at him. 

Slade got to his feet again. “Do you want some water? Rest for a while before we leave?” 

Grayson looked up, his eyes pleading. 

“Just get me out of here. Please.” 

Right now, he just looked like a scared, broken child. It broke Slade’s heart. But he also realised that right now, it wasn’t him Grayson was scared of and he tried to see that as a positive thing. 

He nodded, already thinking of a plan. 

He was sure there had been a window in the hallway.


	2. Chapter 2

Of course, Grayson insisted that he would walk on his own. Of course, he couldn’t. His legs were stiff. Numb after kneeling in the same position for too long. And when Slade wordlessly grabbed him and took him in his arms, he didn’t protest, accepting that he just couldn’t walk. 

Much to both their displeasure, there hadn’t been any clothes in the room. And unfortunately, Slade couldn’t take parts of his armour off to give them to him. Which was why he was holding Grayson in his arms, bridal style, and wrapped in the blanket, still stark-naked underneath it. 

They had made it out of Adonis’s brothel unnoticed. It was in the middle of the night, which had made it easy to hijack a car, get Grayson in and drive to the kid’s apartment. 

Grayson hadn’t asked him about how he knew where he lived. He hadn’t complained when Slade took him out of the car, swung him over his shoulder, held him there with one hand and climbed over the fire escape stairs to the roof where he took Grayson back in his arms. He also just accepted it when Slade entered the house effortlessly via the roof entrance. 

Slade took the staircase one level down and came to a halt in front of one of the doors in the hallway. 

“This one?” he asked. 

“You already know, why do you ask?” Grayson mumbled. 

Slade didn’t give him an answer. Instead he knelt down, put Grayson in his lap and took his tools to pick the lock. It wasn’t easy, he had to admit. Enhanced security measurements, he was sure, but still, it took him a mere minute to get the door open. He took Grayson in his arms again and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. 

He took a look around. They were standing in a nice and fancy living room, with an open kitchen and a dining table. Not extremely huge, but fancy and suitable for the offspring of a rich guy. 

The door to the bedroom stood open and Slade carried Grayson in there to put him in the bed. 

The second Grayson hit the mattress, he made a satisfied noise. He closed his eyes and rolled over to curl himself into a tight ball. 

Slade couldn’t help but smile at how relaxed he suddenly looked. Even though Slade was still in the room. Could still hurt him. 

He turned towards the dresser in the room and opened the first drawer. There were briefs in it. Exactly wat Slade wanted. He took one of them and walked back over to the bed. 

“Get rid of the blanket,” he said and Grayson opened one eye to look at him. Or rather, his masked face. “You should probably burn it. After you rested and took a shower. Or a long bath.” 

Grayson didn’t move at first, but after a moment he groaned, struggled to get free from the embrace of the blanket and threw it over the edge of the bed on the ground. He didn’t bother to hide his nudity this time and wordlessly took the briefs from Slade’s hand to put them on. He grabbed the blanket on the bed and huddled underneath it, pulling it up to his chin. When he finally was in a comfortable position, he stared at Slade again. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I don’t understand why you helped me and I am well aware that you could still harm me, but for now... thank you.” He looked sincere. Maybe still a bit afraid, but sincerely thankful. 

“I could. But I won’t. I promised you not to,” Slade assured him. “I won’t.” 

“Okay,” Grayson said. 

“Okay,” Slade answered. 

They stared at each other for an awkwardly long moment before Slade cleared his throat. 

“I’ll leave you, then. Sleep tight, Grayson,” he said and turned to leave. 

The desperate “Wait!” took him by surprise and he turned back around. 

“I-" Grayson started but stopped to take a deep breath. “Stay,” he finally said. “Please. I... can’t be alone now. Please.” 

Slade barely suppressed a choked sound. Grayson wanted him to stay...? He’d just been so terrified of him. Why did he trust him now? 

“Call your dad then, Grayson. Or one of your brothers,” he said although he felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. Grayson wanted him to _stay_. 

“No! No, I can’t. Slade, please. I don’t want them to...” He sobbed and Slade was sure there were tears again. “ _Please_...” 

Slade took a deep breath. Grayson trusted him enough to ask, no, _beg_ him to stay. How could he say no to that? 

“Alright, Grayson-" 

“Dick,” the boy interrupted him. 

“What?” 

“I think we’re on first name basis by now. Call me Dick.” 

Slade raised an eyebrow although Gray- Dick couldn’t see it. So, he made a point of taking the mask of, just to make sure that the kid was aware of the raised eyebrow. 

“An hour ago, you were terrified of me, _Dick_ ,” he pointed out. 

“I had every reason to. But you saved me. Like you said, if you wanted to hurt me or ra- uh.” He cleared his throat, clearly not ready to actually say it. “You could have done so. You had me at your mercy. There was no reason to save me. But you did. That means, you have to be sincere about this.” 

“Son of the world’s greatest detective, huh?” Slade said and turned to put his mask on the dresser. He started to take his weapons of and put then there as well. If he was going to stay here, he wasn’t interested in sitting around in full gear. 

If Dick was bothered by the weapons on his dresser, he didn’t express his displeasure. 

Slade looked down at himself and really wished he could take his suit off. Right now, he'd really prefer civilian clothes. But Dick was way smaller than him and his clothes would never fit him. 

“You don’t happen to have some clothes in my size, do you?” he asked nonetheless, just for the sake of it. 

“Uh...” Dick made a face like he was actually thinking about that. “Maybe.” 

Slade raised an eyebrow. “Maybe.” 

“Had to borrow some of Bruce’s clothes once. I don’t think I gave them back yet. Wardrobe, left door. Somewhere on the top. A black shirt and black pants?” 

Of course, black. 

Slade went to open said door. And he did indeed find a black shirt and black pants on the top shelf. Yeah, they would fit. 

He didn’t bother to leave the room to change. He could actually hear how Dick held his breath when he started to take his suit off. 

“I saw you naked too,” Slade pointed out without looking at him, feeling the need to explain why he was changing in front of the kid. “It’s only fair.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Dick choked out. 

When Slade did look at him, he blushed, so Slade looked away again, not wanting the kid to feel uncomfortable. 

He neatly folded his suit and put it on the dresser, the space on it getting really small at this point. He put the clothes on and they actually fit pretty well. Comfortable. 

He turned back to Dick who pointedly looked into another direction. 

“Want me to get you some water? Something to eat?” Slade asked and Dick looked at him again. 

He nodded. “Yeah. Water please. In the kitchen.” 

“I’ll find it.” 

But when Slade came back with a bottle of water in his hand, Dick had fallen asleep. 

Slade was sitting in the armchair in the bedroom, reading one of the books he'd found in the living room, when Dick started to scream and thrash. Slade stood so quickly, the book just fell to the ground, but he didn’t care. He hurried over to the bed. After considering what to do, he sat down on the bed, touched Dick’s shoulder and tried to shake him awake. 

“Kid,” he said, trying to sound soothing. “You have to wake up.” 

Dick’s fist took him by surprise and hit him across the jaw a second before Dick opened his eyes. He looked bewildered, looked around the room, until his eyes finally fell on Slade and he visibly relaxed. 

Slade let go of his shoulder. 

“Sit up, kid,” Slade said and took the water bottle from the nightstand. “Drink.” 

Dick looked at his jaw. “’m sorry,” he mumbled while sitting up against the headboard and taking the bottle. He was shaking. 

“Don’t worry about that,” Slade said rubbing his jaw. “I’ve had worse.” 

Dick stared at him for a moment, then nodded and uncapped the bottle to drink a few sips. 

Slade felt pretty lost. He didn’t know what to do. Should he try to comfort the kid? How should he comfort him? He didn’t even know what exactly had been done to him. 

Well, maybe that might be a good start? Ask him about it. Find out what he would kill those guys for, because he was definitely going to do that. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Slade asked. 

“Huh?” Dick looked up from the bottle and stared at him. 

“About what happened? What did they do to you? Did they touch you? Make you do something?” 

From his expression Slade could tell that Dick was about to say no when he opened his mouth, but after a second of consideration he closed it again and nodded. He looked almost shy. 

“Go on, then,” Slade tried to encourage him. He sure as fuck was no therapist. Not really the person you could talk with about sensitive stuff, but maybe it would help the kid if he just listened. 

“I don’t know why I trust you,” Dick said with a sigh and he put the bottle on the nightstand again. “I really shouldn’t.” There was an expression on his face Slade couldn’t interpret. 

“Maybe,” Slade admitted. “But tell me: When was the last time I actually tried to kill you? When was the last time you had to fight for your life against me?” 

Dick looked like he was caught off guard by that question. But still, the answer came too quickly. Too sure of himself. 

“What? You try to kill me every time we fight! Only a week ago you-” 

“I had the chance to kill you, yes,” Slade interrupted him and smiled. “Had you against a wall, my sword against your throat. I could have killed you then and there. I didn’t. So, think again. When was the last time I was going for an actually lethal blow?” 

Dick opened his mouth to answer that question and Slade could pinpoint the exact moment he realised that he wasn’t able to answer it. And again, there was something else Slade couldn’t name. 

“Alright, I get it, but _why_?” he asked instead, looking kind of nervous. 

“Does than really matter now? The point is, you can trust me. I’m not going to hurt you and I’m not going to use any of this against you.” 

“Fine.” Dick took a deep breath. “I was going after Adonis for a while now. Both as Nightwing and as Officer Grayson. Human trafficking is something I’d rather not have in Blüdhaven. It was... I think... six days ago when I found a truck at some warehouse and heard people’s screams. Adonis was there, too, and I realised that it was his truck. I was about to call the station to give them the licence number when something hit my head and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, they... already had stripped me naked and tied up. Adonis was there and he told me that he was planning to... well, I think you can imagine. I spit in his face and he laughed and told me that he would have to break me first, then. They left me in some kind of cell for a day. I managed to get out of the restraints and when they came back, I attacked them. There was this one huge guy who just punched me in the face and I went out again. When I woke up again, I was in the restraints... you found me in. Adonis took me to...” Dick stopped and looked out of the window. It was still dark outside. 

“You don’t have to go on, if you don’t want to,” Slade said. He sure as fuck wasn’t going to _make_ the kid talk about that shit. 

Dick shook his head and looked back at Slade. “No, I just... I was scared.” There was a crack in his voice and Slade was sure that he was about to break down and cry. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared. My life’s at risk every damn night. I know that. I _accept_ that. I’m not scared of death. I can’t be. But when Adonis showed me those people... they were broken. They were just broken. Compliant to every order. At first, I was defiant. I told myself that I wouldn’t become like that. That I wouldn’t let him break me. But then he _showed me_ how they broke them. He showed me how they hurt them and what unthinkable things they did to them and I knew, I just _knew_ that I wouldn’t... that he would break me too. He took me there every damn night and showed me what awaiting me. And every fucking day, they tied me to that fucking platform and humiliated me and told me that I just had to wait a bit longer until they would... do those things to me. And that they would make a lot of money with me. And then they took me into that fucking room and Adonis told me that there was someone who wanted me and I was so scared but I didn’t want anyone to know but then it was _you_ of all people and you know who I am and I thought about what they did to those slaves and I thought you would do those things to me and I panicked because I didn’t want it to be _you_ to do that and-” 

“Dick, stop!” Slade said, trying to stop the kid from hyperventilating. He had been talking faster and faster and Slade was sure he hadn’t even realised yet that he was crying. 

“Stop,” he said again softly and Dick was staring at him with big eyes. “I get it. I do. You don’t have to talk about it anymore. You don’t have to _think_ about it anymore. They won’t hurt you. Neither will I.” He really couldn’t say that often enough. “You are safe. I won’t _let_ them lay a finger on you ever again, aright?” 

Slade almost fell of the bed in surprise when Dick suddenly darted forwards and threw his arms around his neck to pull him into a desperate hug. The shoulder of his shirt was already wet with Dick’ tears when Slade managed to process the fact that _Dick was hugging him_ and he hesitantly put his arms around the much smaller man to pull him closer against his chest. He put one hand on the back of Dick’s head and gently stroked his hair. 

Shit. That was what you got when you decided to care about someone, wasn’t it? Why the fuck did he have to fall for this goddamn... 

“Shhh, it’s alright,” he said, lowering his voice and trying to sound soothing. “It’s fine, Dick. You are safe. I promise, you are safe. No one is going to hurt you. They won’t ever find you.” 

Slade tried to calm the kid down, talked to him quietly and assured him that he wouldn't let anything happen to him. 

It felt like an eternity, but eventually, Dick stopped crying. Slade didn't let go of him until he decided to pull back himself. Dick’s eyes were puffy and red and Slade couldn't help himself but reach for his cheek to wipe away one last tear on his face. 

Dick didn’t flinch back and for Slade, that was the absolute best that could have happened right now. Dick did trust him, then. Somehow. A bit, at least. Of course, he did. Otherwise he wouldn’t have asked Slade to stay. Still, allowing Slade to touch him was... Slade felt bad about being happy in an inappropriate moment like that. 

“You should really try to sleep some more. Haven’t slept for more than a few hours,” Slade said, his voice not giving away his childish excitement. 

“Stay,” Dick whispered barely loud enough for Slade’s enhanced hearing to catch it. 

“Not going anywhere,” Slade said confused. Why should he go now? 

Dick shook his head. “Here.” 

Oh. _Oh_! He was talking about staying in his bed! 

Slade nodded. “Whatever makes you feel better.” 

Dick looked like he wanted to ask something, but he didn’t, made a point of not looking at Slade instead. 

“What is it?” Slade asked, not wanting the kid to bottle something up. He gently put a hand on Dick’s cheek, made him turn his head and look at him. There was a strange expression on his face that Slade couldn’t quite put into words. And again, Slade was happy that Dick accepted the touch without as much as a flinch. 

“It’s just... you didn’t answer my question. Said it’s not important. But it is, to me,” Dick said, still talking with a quiet voice. Slade was almost sure that he was leaning into the touch, pressing his face into his palm. 

“What question?” 

“Why you don’t want me dead. Why you... care about me.” Dick looked so nervous asking this. Almost like he was hoping for a particular answer. 

Afterwards, Slade wouldn’t be able to say what he was thinking. Wouldn’t be able to explain himself and his actions. But still... 

He knew, it was a bad idea. He knew, he shouldn’t do it. He knew, this was so fucking wrong. 

All that didn’t stop him from grabbing the back of Dick’s neck and pulling him into a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thany you for reading!
> 
> There's going to be a second part. It will basically be the same story... but told from Dick's POV! I think you'll get that in two or three days, so no long wait :D

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Just wanted to add that English isn't my native language. Also, fun fact, this is the first fic I straight up wrote in English. Usually, I write them in German first and translate them afterwards. It’s stupid and way too much effort...


End file.
